Rohingyas will be deported only after due procedure: SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea that sought the release of at least 150 Rohingya refugees detained in a Jammu sub-jail and the stalling of their deportation to Myanmar, even as the court added a caveat that the deportation must follow due procedure.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, said the Rohingya refugees must be deported from Jammu only after their proper identification and acknowledgment of their citizenship by the Myanmar government.
“No Rohingya from Jammu will be deported without the procedure to be followed in such cases,” said the bench.
The Centre had on March 26 opposed the plea by one refugee, Mohammad Salimullah, while emphasising that India cannot become “the international capital of illegal immigrants”.
A BENCH, HEADED BY CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA (CJI) SA BOBDE, ADDED THE CAVEAT THAT THE DEPORTATION OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES FROM JAMMU MUST FOLLOW DUE PROCEDURE
NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Thursday rejects a plea that had sought the release of at least 150 Rohingya refugees detained in a Jammu sub-jail and the stalling of deportation.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, added the caveat that the deportation of Rohingya refugees from Jammu must follow due procedure, which involved their proper identification and acknowledgment of their citizenship by the Myanmar government.
“No Rohingya from Jammu will be deported without the procedure to be followed in such cases,” said the bench that included justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
The Centre on March 26 opposed the plea by Mohammad Salimullah while emphasising that India cannot become “the international capital of illegal immigrants”.
The government called the Rohingya “absolutely illegal immigrants” who posed “serious threats to national security” and also contended that the right to settle in India could not be asserted by illegal immigrants under the garb of the Constitution’s Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty.
On March 6, on the instructions of the Union ministry of home affairs, the Jammu & Kashmir administration started a verification drive of the Rohingya, and moved some of them to a holding centre, pending their potential deportation.
There are close to 7,000 Rohingya refugees in Jammu & Kashmir, numbers that have increased since the late 2000s when they first arrived in the region after escaping from Myanmar, where they were facing religious persecution. India has previously deported Rohingya refugees.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on March 26 submitted that a similar application to stop the deportation of Rohingya from Assam was dismissed by the top court in 2018 and that the present application must meet the same fate.
He added the Centre has begun the process of deporting Rohingya after receiving a confirmation from the Myanmar government regarding their nationality, and that the apex court should steer clear of the “diplomatic issue” since it fell within the exclusive domain of the executive.
Representing the Jammu & Kashmir administration, senior advocate Harish Salve also cautioned the bench against “starting a dangerous trend” by interfering with a subject related to illegal immigrants and diplomatic relations with another country.
Salimullah’s lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, alluded to a January 2020 judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that highlighted the persecution faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar.
The Centre’s affidavit maintained that it has to first secure the interests of its own citizens before those of illegal immigrants who, it said, were casting a burden on the already depleting natural resources of the country in addition to posing a security threat.